Cam actuated pivoted jaw wrench



M. J. FEHRING CAM ACTUATED 'PIVOTED JAW WRENCH Filed June 5, 1947 INVENTOR. Maw/e0 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 30, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAM ACTUATEDPIVOTED JAW WRENCH Monroe J. Feiring, Hamilton, R. 1. Application June 3', 1947, SerialNo. 752,065

- 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to wrenches, and more particularly to an improved construction of wrenches of the type having a stationary jaw anda jawmovable with respect thereto.

This application is a continuation-in-part' of my copending application; Ser'. No; 517,774, filed January 11, 1944, for Wrench, now Patent No.

Anobject of theinvention isto provide a highly improved construction for a; wrench havingfa relatively stationary jaw and a relatively movable jaw, in which novelmeansare'provided to positively lock the movablejaw against undesired movement while the wrench is being used upon a nut, bolt, or the like, and in which the normal action of gripping the wrench handle Willautomatically render the said locking means effective while the release of the gripon thewrench handle will automatically permitrelativdmove ment between thejavvs.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved construction for a wrench of the character described, in which the head thereof comprising the jaws is so constructed thatit may be removed and replaced by another'head of a different size or shape. 7

A further object of the inventionis to' provide a novel and improved construction for a wrench of the character described which shall comprise a minimum of parts, which shall' be easy'to as:

.semble and to disassemble to the'exteiit required;

which may be manufactured at w cost, and which is efiective in operation.

Other objects and advantages ofthe invention will become apparent fromthe following description of a preferred embodimentther'eof as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing's, and in which,

Fig. 1 is an elevational'view ofa wrench constructed and arranged in accordance with niy invention;

Fig. 2 is an edge view of the'wrench according to my invention, such as might be seen when looking downward from above the shown inFigL 1; V

Fig. 3' is an edgeview of thewrenchaccord ing to my invention; s'uchfas might beseieiiwhen lookingupward from below the wrench shown wrench Fi 4is an'elevationalview similar tothat' of Fig; 1, but with the'top laminationremoved and 'illust'ratirig' the locking" means iri inefi'ctive pb position Fig. 6 'is an elevational view, similar to'Figs; 4 and 5, but vviththe wrench head and actuating lever andspring removed; and

Fig; 7 is a sectional View taken on line 7-4 of Fig. 6.

In order to understand clearly the nature of the'inve'ntion; and the best means for carrying it out, reference may now behad tothe drawings, in which like reference characters denote similar parts throughout theseveral views: As shown, thereis a wrench comprising'generally a head portion Hi and a wrench handle or body portion l2, made of any suitable material custo'marily" employed for making wrenches, such as for example, metallic material;

Th'ehandleportion l2 may comprise a number of longitudinal inner laminations or inner plates 18 (s'eeFi'g'. 7) the plates being cut away alongtheirregularline 21] to form a" hollow area or recess 22 (see Figs; 4', 5 and 6) defined-by the border 29 cf the inner plates and'the inner walls 2 5 and 26', of the longitudinal outer or cover plates 14 and 16" respectively.

The whole assemblycomprising the laminations I8; sandwiched between the outer cover plates M and I6, is preferably secured together li'y'metal bondingthroughout, by the process of brazing or solderingbetween the surfaces of the larninatioiis and cover plates to thereby provide a maximum-cf strength for thehandleof the wrench; As will be noted from Figs. 4T5 and'fi, when: the inner and outer plates are thus assembled, there will be provided, in addition to the recess 22, a lefthand recess or hollow area 'otally mounted, by means ofthe' pivot aria-lever member 42" having an integral jaw portion 44 enlarged'to thesame thickness as'th'at of the fixed jaw member 3'5" and of such design as to effectively cooperate therewith for the customary Wrench usage, this constructionbeing also clear-- 1 illustrated and described 7 in my copendingapplication Ser'. No. 517,774, new; PatentNo.

It" Willbenoted thata portion of the imlicw area 34 adjacent the upper end of the wrench handle, communicates directly with the hollow area 32, and that a portion 42a of the lever member 42 extends into the hollow communicating area 34. Lever 42 is so mounted that it may pivotally move to thereby move the jaw 44 toward and away from the fixed jaw 36. The amount of pivotal movement of the said jaw 44 is limited in one direction, that is, away from the fixed jaw 35, by the shoulder 46 of the bifurcated area, and in the opposite direction, toward the fixed jaw 36 by the wall 48 of the hollow area 34.

The movable jaw 44 is normally urged into movement in a direction toward the fixed jaw 36, as for example, in the position shown in Fig.

' released.

4, by means of a leaf spring 50 fixed at one end to the fixed jaw shank 33 by means ofirivets,

52 and having its free end contactively engaging the relatively movable jaw member shank 42.

It is thus seen from the above described construction that when it is desired, the wrench may be used so that it will have a ratchet action for tightening nuts, bolts and the like, in the well known manner, due to the ability of the movable jaw to move from the position shown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. 5 against the action of the spring 50. v

However, it is noted that at such time when it is desired to effectively turn the nut 54, to either loosen or tighten the same, it is necessary that the movable jaw 44 be held against movement in a direction away from the fixed jaw 36. To this end, and in accordance with my invention, I have provided the following mechanism designed to automatically and positively lock the movable jaw against movement away from the fixed jaw when the user of the wrench tightens his grip on the handle for effective use and to automatically again permit free movement of the jaw 44 against the action of the spring 50 when the user releases his grip on the handle.

Pivotally mounted between the cover plates 14 and i6 by means of pivot 56 is an actuating locking lever 58 having an extension locking arm 60 for bearing engagement against the corresponding surface of the inner end of the movable jaw lever portion 420;. Thus, when the hand grip lever portion of the locking lever 58 is pressed inwards in a counter-clockwise direction from the position shown in Fig. 5 where it is partly outside the elongated recess 22, to the position shown in Fig. 4 where it is substantially retracted inside the said recess 22, it is apparent that the locking arm 60 is also moved in a counter-clockwise direction in such a manner as to cam the inner end of the movable jaw member 42 upwards about its pivot to the position shown in Fig. 4, thus positively locking the lever member 42 against any further movement relative to the fixed jaw, and allowing the said jaws to cooperatively engage the nut 54 as shown.

A spring 10 has one end seated in a suitable socket 12 formed in the laminations I8 and extending from the inner wall 20 of the recess 22, and has its other end bearing against the inner wall of the hand grip lever 58 is such a manner as to normally urge the lever portion 58 to pivot about the axis 56 is a clockwise direction partially out of the recess 22, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, only slight hand grip pressure being necessary in order to overcome the spring force to retract the lever inside the handle recess to the position .shown in Fig. 4. The spring 10 is made stronger than the spring 50 so that normally the head 60 of the gripping lever 58 will move to the position shown in Fig. 5 when the grip on the lever 53 is released. The outward motion of the hand grip lever 53 under the action of spring I0 is limited by an abutment surface 18 adapted to be engaged by the lever part 60.

The user, in the normal course of tightening his grip on the handle of the wrench, will cause the inward movement of the lever 58 to automatically lock the movable jaw 44 against movement. In this position it is not possible for the jaws 3G and 44 to open unless the lever 58 is It is further noted that this locking effect of the jaws 36 and 44 in closed position is independent of the amount of gripping force applied to the handle provided there is merely enough force to overcome the action of the spring Ill. The head 10 of the wrench may be releasably held in proper position by any well known releasable locking means, such as, for example, the spring pressed ball 84 in the head I0, cooperating with a detent 86. Therefore, it is noted that difierent sized heads may be used with the same handle, within the scope of my invention.

Although I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention in specific terms, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in size, shape, materials and arrangement without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed herein.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a wrench of the character described, the combination of a handle portion, a removable head portion comprising a fixed jaw and a movable jaw, a first resilient means carried by said removable head portion for normally urging said movable jaw in a direction toward said fixed jaw, means for limiting the movement of said movable jaw toward said fixed jaw, and means for locking said movable jaw against movement in said last named limited position, said last named means comprising a locking lever pivotally mounted on said handle portion in the area where said handle is normally gripped for use and normally held out of the path of movement of said movable jaw by a second resilient means, said locking lever being so designed that a portion thereof will be automatically moved into abutting relationship with said movable jaw to lock the same against movement in a direction against the action of said first resilient means whenever said handle is gripped for effective use.

2. In a wrench of the character described, the combination of a handle portion having a recess formed therein, a head portion removably receivable in said recess, said head portion comprising a relatively stationary jaw member and a relatively movable jaw member pivotally secured thereto whereby said movable jaw and said stationary jaw may be moved to cooperatively engage a nut or the like, resilient means carried by one of said jaw members and engaging against the other of said jaw members for normally biasing their jaws into said cooperative engaging positions, said movable jaw member having an extension inside said recess, an actuating lever comprising a locking arm portion and a hand grip portion pivoted in said handle portion, said locking arm portion of said actuating lever being so constructed and arranged as toautomatically engage against said extension of said movable 'jawmember to lock said movableand stationary ever the handle portion of said wrench is gripped.

3. In a wrench of the character described, the combination of a handle portion having a recess formed therein, a head portion removably receivable in said recess, said head portion comprising a relatively stationary jaw member and a relatively movable i'jaw member pivotally secured thereto whereby-said movable jaw and said stationary jaw may be moved to cooperative position to engage a nut or the like, first resilient means for normally biasing their jaws into said cooperative engaging positions, said movable jaw member having an extension inside said recess, an actuating lever pivoted in said handle portion, said actuating lever comprising a locking arm portion and a hand grip portion, said looking arm portion being so constructed and arranged whereby to automatically engage against said movable jaw member extension to lock said 2 movable and stationary laws in said cooperative engaging position, and-second resilient means engaging the said handle portion of said wrench and said hand grip portion for biasing said hand grip lever at least partly out of said recess whereby, upon release of the hand grip by the operator of the wrench, said locking lever portion'is automatically moved to jaw unlocking position.

MONROE J. FEIRING.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS :7

Number Name Date 571,387 Ryder -Nov.10, 1896 1,060,354 Stewart Apr. 29, 1913 1,140, Bean May 18, 1915 1,405,497 Matthey Feb. 14, 1922 1,826, 7 i65- Gang Oct. 13, 1931 2,043,548 Colognori et a1. July 14, 1936 2,185 902 Pack Dec'.26, 1939 Feiring Jan.11, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Dec. 8, 1927 Switzerland Mar. 17, 1941 

